It was only a game
by Ikaru Sentinal
Summary: Seras finds herself infatuated with her Master, and fighting that continuously growing attraction fang and claw. She knows somehow that it is all Alucard's fault, and she refuses to give into his game.
1. Sleepless nights

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing, would that I could. That belongs to the wonderful Kohta Hirano. Because, if I did own Hellsing, that would mean I owned Alucard. And if I owned Alucard, he and Seras would never leave the basement. : Evil Grin: But alas, own them I do not, so I can only dream, and share said inane fantasies with those poor souls who happen to stumble upon my rambles.

AN/ I have so many Manga and Anime I love, and Hellsing is one of my favorites. Also, I have wanted to write an Alucard/Seras Fan Fiction for a long while yet. I just have not gotten inspiration for a plot 'til now.

Besides, I am a little perturbed over how little fluff there is between Alucard and Seras. I know if he were _my_ master; I'd be all over him. So here begins a series of inane fluff; although it is not going to really be… 'fluff'… considering Alucard's personality. So actually, that should be 'here begins a series of dramatic, angst ridden, ill fated romance with some fluffy interludes'. And it will be good. I'm going to try my very best to keep all the characters, in character. If after reading this, you find some inconstancies or discrepancies, please review and inform me of them so I may rectify my mistakes. And also, if you enjoy this, review as well. I want to hear from everyone, drop me a line. And enjoy!!

(And I know saying 'inconstancies' and 'discrepancies' is sort of redundant, but I care not!)

Seras lay awake in her four poster coffin bed, her right arm lying across her stomach and her left arm thrown limply above her head. She was staring blankly at the closed cover over her. Her mind was in turmoil and she was finding sleep nigh on impossible; though it was the middle of the day and she should have been asleep hours ago.

Hellsing had not had any missions for a week now; it had been very quiet on the Freak front as of late. So she just knew there was something malicious brewing among them; they were likely plotting something along the lines of a large scale invasion. But that was not what had her stricken by insomnia. She had not been sleeping very well for almost a month now; and she couldn't care less about the Freaks as of now, she had something much more crucial on her mind.

She thought she had been doing a rather admiral job of hiding it from Miss Integra Hellsing, her Master's Master; and mayhap the Butler/Angel of Death, Walter was bought as well; but she knew she had not had her Master convinced even in the least. She had seen the sidelong glances he gave her and heard the snide comments. But this was not anything she could possibly confide in him; it was _because_ of him in fact. Of course, she could hardly blame him. It was not _his_ fault he was so damn bloody attractive and irresistible.

Of course, he _could_ stop flaunting his charm and oozing that unholy sexual charisma of his, but that was not likely to happen. It was part of who he was; as much part of him as his infuriating smirk, his smooth, perfect, porcelain white skin, his enthralling blood red eyes, his masculine flawlessly proportioned features…

She groaned in emotional agony and she slid her left forearm down to cover her eyes. She was only torturing herself. But she wanted him. She wanted him very badly. And she knew that it was very likely he knew. How could he not? He was her _Master_. He always seemed to know exactly what she was doing, and thinking. And that just made her feel absolutely mortified, and afraid to face him. She was at a complete loss. What could she do?

She groaned again and slid her arm up slightly so that it pressed against her chilled forehead and she squinted her eyes open to glare at the lid above her.

How _dare_ he do this to her. She knew that somehow, someway, this was all _his_ doing. It was just like him to have her become besotted with him, and then leave her suffering in agony over what she could never have.

Because he could have absolutely any female he wished. He was powerful enough and charismatic enough to charm or take any female who caught his eye. So why should he bother with her?

Besides…she knew that her Master and his Master had a relationship. They never spoke of any such thing of course, and there was no actual evidence of any liaison; but just the way they seemed connected; the way she spoke to him –so commandeering and abusive- but how he seemed to enjoy it, thrived on it. How else could his consistent devotion to her be explained? There was no other way about it in her mind; and how could she compare?

She blinked away bitter tears and bit her lip angrily. Angry at herself. It would simply not do at all to become jealous or bitter towards her Master's Master, for he would berate and reprimand her harshly she was sure. Besides, Ms. Integra Hellsing was rather kind to her, and fair, and strong. She was ideal for Alucard. She was the head of the Hellsing organization after all. Besides, it certainly was not Master Integra's fault that she was smitten with her servant. She was blameless in this, so getting angry at her would solve nothing; and only serve to make her look a fool. And she'd rather not do anything to attract Master Integra's contempt. That lady was scary when she was mad.

And besides, Alucard was not just any vampire, he was a _**Nosferatu**_. A mythical being even among the other vampires. He was without peer. Nobody could compare to his strength, power, and his numerous shadow abilities were unbelievable. So why should she be of any concern to him other than that he had for some reason deemed her worthy enough (or at least interesting enough) to chose her to be his sireling? To her knowledge, he had not granted the 'gift' of the night to anyone else, not ever. Or at least not in a very long, long while. So why her? She knew it 

was not simply because she would otherwise have died when he shot her through the lung to kill that vampire masquerading as a priest. Alucard did not feel pity or regret over such things. If he had to kill a hundred innocents to get to one Freak, it all balanced out to him. So why should he care?

She groaned and slid her left arm back down to cover her eyes. She was simply enamored of Alucard; that was all. A silly school-girl crush. It was only because she was a fledgling -an infant of the night- and he was her Master, so it was only natural wasn't it? And it would run its course. Sure as sure. And then she would be fine. It would be very wise to not dwell on such things overlong, she'd only hurt herself and no-one but she would be to blame.

She only had to be strong. And maybe she would win some admiration from Alucard for controlling her fledgling feelings so well…

She hissed in frustration and pressed her arm tighter against her eyelids as she shook her head violently.

No! That was not the way she wanted to be thinking! If she began to try and curry favor, and began to grow dependent on his praise and admiration then that would not help her whatsoever in her quest to be over him. That would be the opposite of productive.

No, she had to be strong. Steal herself. She had to throw herself into her training sessions and her missions and try and focus her attention on anything and everything except her Master. And how dashing he was. And how powerful and awe-inspiring, terrifying, dark…beautiful…

She clenched her teeth –and forgetting where see was just this moment- sat up. She thumped her head loudly against the cover over her coffin and fell backwards with a startled yelp of pain; seeing stars.

She snarled in indignant fury over her own stupidity and began to fumble about herself, searching for the button to raise the top. She finally found it and pressed it angrily. She waited impatiently for the top to rise and then rolled out of her coffin and began to pace the floor restlessly, her hands clenching and unclenching convulsively by her sides.

She caught sight of the packet of donated blood in a bucket of ice on the table in the center of the room and froze in mid-step; contemplating.

She had recently resigned herself to being a child of the night –and thus partaking of blood- and she had reluctantly come to the conclusion that –after all- who did it hurt to drink donated blood; from the blood bank? Not a soul. And this way it kept her –and her Master- from losing control and feeding on some poor peasant.

Besides, it was not like it was possible for her to eat anything else at all anymore. And what had she expected when she gave Alucard permission to change her? She had known vampires drank 

blood. Now it was time to accept that fact, and adapt. She was strong; she knew she could survive this. She had been putting it off for so long because she was afraid of losing her humanity; but she had given that up the moment Alucard bit her. She finally came to the grudging conclusion that she could keep her 'humanity' by drinking the donated blood, and thus not attacking a poor innocent.

But that did not mean she had to like it, or even drink it often. But her Master had seemed pleased with when she had finally started to drink her blood instead of dumping it down the lavatory; very, very pleased in fact. She flushed at the memory of his praising her and slowly walked over to the table and sat down in the chair.

She reached tentatively for the bag and then turned it over in her hands several times; thinking. She then grimaced and lay her head down on the table between her elbows, her arms stretched out on the table in front of her, the bag of blood still held in her hands.

What could she possibly do? Every single thing reminded her of Alucard. She took a deep breath in through her nose and sat back up. Well, Alucard was always telling her that if she drank her blood more often she would be stronger; and if she were stronger surely her self-control would be as well. Wouldn't it?

So with grim determination she uncapped the bag and began to slowly drink the blood; a little upset that the taste did not bother anymore; in fact –to her horror- she found that she rather enjoyed it now. But what could she do? She could not be a timid little twilight walker anymore, Hellsing needed all the help they could get against the growing Freak population; and she could no longer stand being a disgrace to her Master. She would make him proud, make all of them proud.

Besides, with how little sleep she had been getting of late; she needed all the strength she could possibly get. She had no wish for anyone to notice and comment on her lack of performance due to being hungry and tired. She had no excuse to give; at least not one she was willing to share.

After she finished her meal, she finally felt her eyelids grow heavy. She was elated; it seems she would finally be able to get some sleep. It seemed that her decision to ignore her growing affection and attraction towards her master, combined with her determination to finally fully embrace the night, had freed her of what tensions had caused her insomnia.

So with a sleepy –and pleased- smile she crawled back into her four poster coffin, and laid herself down. She depressed the button and closed her eyes as the bed sank into the ground; leaving her in a comforting darkness.

But as soon as she felt she should be drifting off to sleep, her eyes snapped open and she stared dejectedly at the coffin cover above her.

For some reason, she still could not find it in herself to sleep. She felt as if there was something missing. After an intense and thorough internal inventory she realized that she was terribly lonely, and was intense longing to have her Master by her side.

She snarled in impotent rage and lifted her right wrist to her mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood in order to stifle a scream of rage.

This was definitely Alucard's doing. There was no other explanation. Well, she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he kept her awake all through the day even when he was not anywhere near her. She dropped her arm back to her side, closed her eyes, and began to meditate.

"I will not lose to you in this, my Master…" She hissed angrily to the empty air as she slowly drifted off to sleep, and after a short while her exhausted body finally relinquished her to the oblivion of slumber.

And unbeknownst to the sleeping vampiress, a pair of blood red eyes, which had been peering out from the black mirror in her room for some time now, glowed brighter momentarily before slowly fading away, accompanied by a darkly amused chuckle.

It seems the game had only just begun.

AN/ Well? What do you all think of this one? It is an intriguing beginning if I do say so myself. And I just did. XD And things only get more complicated form here on out. Most of my Fan Fictions are rather straight forward –romance-wise at least- so I am trying to make this one complicated. A little bit. It will be Alucard/Seras of course. But there will be some Alucard/Integra and a little Pip/Seras. Well, review if you want the second chapter! Review I say!!


	2. New recruits

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Hellsing. At all. Nope.

AN/ Second chapter of 'It was only a game', I hope you enjoy it and I apologize for the long wait...Read and Review!!

So, this is following the storyline....sorta. Of the Manga, not the Anime. Both are good, but I really prefer the Manga. Seras is so weak in the Anime....sighs But...I am doing my own thing here, so it is a little AU. Mainly I am making Seras a little less of a wuss... I hope you can forgive me. But I will strive to keep everyone in character. (except for Seras, she I am changing a LITTLE bit) If anyone finds any mistakes in my portrayals, please do not hesitate to tell me!! Thank you!

darknessfollows: I'm glad you think so!

RyousRayne: Oh wow! That is such a beautiful thing for you to say! I hope you enjoy it!

S.T. Nikolian: You are very perceptive. *chuckles*  
SickDeath: I will try! XD I will try my hardest.

TyedyeRin: Here you go!  
SparkleandShine21: I'm glade you think so! I tried hard. I'm sorry I took so long to update.  
Rebel Atar: I am so glad you think so! I tried hard to keep all the characters in character. And of course Alucard was spying on her, how else would he behave?  
utterlyconfusedlover: I'm SO sorry I took so long!! I've had writers block...Here is the update! Please Read and Review!  
Higurashimon: Awesome, glad to have hooked you, hope you like this chapter just as much. :3

* * *

Seras stood silently in the middle of the open compound, her Harkonnen Cannon smoking in her hand and gray overcast sky above her although there was currently no threat of rain. Although it was the middle of the day, as the sun was covered well enough she felt only a little discomfort, and she was able to withstand it easily enough. She would just need to feed well tonight, and get some actual sleep…something she had still not been getting enough of; although to her relief she did not think it showed. Her eyes being naturally shadowed now certainly helped things in that regard. And it wasn't like her skin could get much more pale anyways.

The cannon was almost half again her height, a 30mm Anti-Midian cannon which used both Depleted Uranium shells and armor-piercing incendiary rounds. And even so she held it easily in her left hand as if it were only a basic issue combat rifle. With her strength being what it was very easy to lift things even many times her own weight. In fact, she was quite certain that if she wished so she could easily lift a literal ton; maybe more. But she had never had the wish to experiment. Also it had never actually occurred to her to try.

As it was her mind was not on her extraordinary abilities or how much her vampiric traits made things easier. All her attention was focused on the targets in the distance and she smirked, pleased with herself to see that she had destroyed all the proper ones and not 'harmed' the civilians. She slung her Harkonnen up over her left shoulder and turned to face the group of recruits standing behind her.

"Alright then; so that is how it's done!" She announced gesturing with her right arm at the carnage in the distance, 250 meters to be exact. She knew that _human_ eyes would not be able to manage such a feat, even with the assistance of a scope, but she was giving an example of how useful it was to have a Vampire in the ranks. And, ok, so she was showing off too. But she deserved it she thought. They were staring at her in disbelief and she fought the urge to flush. She needed to loose that silly human emotion, she had no reason to be embarrassed, absolutely none at all.

"Well, of course none you all are expected to ever have to shoot that distance, but you need to learn that killing Freaks is not at all alike to killing humans." She continued with a small smirk, knowing that her fangs were visible and having a guilty pleasure of seeing some of the mercenaries shudder, and she even saw one cross himself. How funny! But it was even funnier when she had first been introduced to this particular group.

* * *

Seras was standing at attention behind Sir Integra Fairbanks Wingates Hellsing as the Lady surveyed her new troops slowly, her hands clasped behind her back. Sir Integra seemed disappointed and Seras did not blame her. It was not customary to hire men from outside the know –men who knew of Vampires and Freaks that is- and most certainly not any from outside the claim of the Queen; but after the catastrophe of the recent attack by a pair of brothers by the name of Jan and Luke –Vampires both; chipped Freaks more precisely- and their army of ghouls they had brought with them, their numbers had been cut most drastically. 86 of the 96 Hellsing London base staff members, and most if not all of their active members had been killed, bloodily and without mercy. So with their numbers so low and the Freak population growing so swiftly, outside help was necessary. And at least this set seemed at least to contain some discipline; although they were all lounging about in chairs and one crates. Even if they _were_ French.

This was French mercenary group which went by the name 'Wild Geese' and was led by a man named Pip Bernadette. He was a handsome enough fellow she supposed, although his hair was really much too long and seemed very ridiculous. It was a dirty blonde color, and the braid was wrapped about his neck and still fell to his lower back. How could he stand it? He also had an eye-patch over his left eye, but it only added to his rather rugged appearance. But looking at him only made her think of how very different her Master looked, and how much she preferred his dark grace to the appearance of this French-man; she greatly preferred his elegant sharp features to this rugged unfinished visage the Captain had.

Seras realized that her mind was once again going off on an ill fated tangent and she swore inwardly before focusing her attention diligently on Sir Integra. She and the woman had become a little closer of late -being the only two females in the whole of the organization had a hand in that- and Seras had no wish to bring any disgrace to the Knight by spacing out in front of her new recruits, and even less did she have any desire to cause Sir Integra to become upset with her. Sir

Integra was a very intimidating woman indeed.

The men had all been scoffing when she and her Master's Master had entered the room, laughing about the ridiculous idea of being there to apparently fight 'monsters'. They seemed to not believe in any such things. Well, they were about to be shaken up a fair bit. When the two woman had entered, with Sir Integra saying in a clear and cool voice "It's true.", being both blunt and serious, the room had fallen quickly silent. Integra was then silent as she surveyed the motley crew before her.

"The rumors you all have been hearing are all true." Sir Integra finally spoke, her voice calm, serious, and pitched perfectly to carry to the back of the crowd. Seras thought she had a wonderfully commanding voice.

"Your enemies are blood sucking, ageless, immortal, Vampires. We carry garlic and Holy water, drive wooden stakes into their hearts, and cut their heads off. Then we burn their corpses and scatter their ashes at a crossroad. _That is how we work_. Read Bram Stoker for more details." Her voice was stern, but calm. She spoke with the matter-of-factness as if simply stating the weather. She was still now, facing the lounging group with her hands clasped behind her back. Her words were met with an outburst of humor and disbelief as all the mercenaries began to exclaim over her sudden words.

The captain's moderately accented voice rose above the throng in a shout of disbelief.  
"You must be barmy!" He exclaimed while rising to his feet. "There is no way Vampires exist in this world...-" He continued, his voice almost sneering before Sir Integra cut him off with a calm disregard.

"You simply don't know. No, to be accurate, you simply have not been _informed_." She had a smug grin on her face now as she continued. "This Hellsing organization was formed one hundred years ago. We have conducted our operations beneath an _unsuspecting populace_..." and here she paused dramatically. "...as an instrument in the war against Vampires. It's hard to understand no matter how I say it. So behold. _That _is your enemy, a Vampire. "As she finished she stepped to the side and pointed at Seras. Seras blanched and stepped forward. Everyone was staring at her in shock and disbelief.

"Ah, hello..." She said in a nervous tone, cold sweat running down her back and she smiled tentatively. The Captain walked up to her and pointed at her in disbelief.

"You're…" He seemed to be finding it hard to believe. "…A Vampire?" he said incredulously. She smiled nervously, showing a fang as the corner of her mouth twitched with nerves. "Uh….yeah…something of the sort…" She replied slowly, and her face would have been flushed could she do such a thing as blush anymore. And the mens' responses were to start laughing quite hysterically. She turned a little sadly to Sir Integra. "I knew they'd laugh at me…" she sighed with a mixture of embarrassment, annoyance, and depression. It wasn't that funny was it? Most humiliating. And Sir Integra seemed just as annoyed and a little sympathetic. She certainly empathized with men looking down on a woman with power.

"And laugh they do." Sir Integra agreed with a sigh.

"Shouldn't Master be here with me?" She asked with only the barest trace of a whine in her voice. And after all, he was a Vampire among Vampires, they'd never dare laugh at _him._

"No." Sir Integra answered immediately. "_He _wouldn't rest until they were all dead." She continued matter-of-factly although sounding a little annoyed. Seras immediately saw that Sir Integra was quite right and just sighed. Sir Integra seemed to have had enough with the mens' mirth and looked fierce as she pointed at her with a demanding finger. "FINE! Show them some _proof, _Police Girl!" She demanded, a demand Seras felt gleeful to obey.

"Roger!!" She exclaimed, her right hand raised in salute. She turned to the men, a small grin forming on her face as she curled her fingers as though ready to snap. "Now then." She said calmly.

But Pip Bernadette had not finished with his laughter and he continued, making her quite annoyed, almost angry now. "If, if, if _you're_ a Vampire….then _I'm _bloody Frankenstein's Monster!" He told her while still laughing. Her eyes narrowed and she simply flicked him on the forehead with one finger. He was sent reeling back, his head snapped to the side and his nose bleeding as he fell over.

He grunted incoherently in surprise and pain and disbelief. She walked slowly towards him as he got back to his feet.

"I challenge you, _Captain._ And I'm only allowed to flick my fingers." She told him calmly as she proceeded to do just that and he was sent reeling back again and again and into his startled men. He sat up, his nose oozing blood and his uncovered eye wide in horror.

"She's…a….freak!" He exclaimed as he scooted back. "Can't see her at all…can't even _sense_ her! All she did was _flick me_ but my head is spinning!" He continued in disbelief. Somewhere inside herself Seras thought she should be upset or even insulted to be called a 'freak', but she actually found that she did not care. She smiled slowly, showing her fangs to the startled men.

"Right, so….like she said, I'm a Vampire." She told them slowly, as if talking to dunces. And still they did not catch on, how dense these French-men were!

"You're really a Vampire?" The Captain asked incredulously as if he had not just seen her proof first hand. She would have replied then with a snide comment but her Master's appearance made it pretty much void.

"Of course she is." Alucard said calmly as he came through the wall, all hat and shades and cloak as always, black on red on white. Certain to impress, and impress he did. "Among us she's the lowest of the low…but she's _obviously_ a Vampire." He continued with a smirk. She unexpectedly found that his comment about her being the 'lowest of the low' didn't just sting, it felt like a punch in her gut. She felt breathless, even considering she no longer needed any such thing, and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. But to cry now, in front of the recruits? In front of her Master _and _Sir Integra?! Unacceptable. She grit her teeth and turned to the men and forced herself to find amusement in their fear over her Master's entrance. They all screamed like little girls and stumbled back away from his imposing figure.

"Not much in the way of guts, will they be of any use to us?" Alucard asked, sounding thoroughly amused. And Seras found that she shared his amusement, it was rather funny, their fear. But it was obvious that Sir Integra did not share their views for she was quick to reprimand him.

"ALUCARD!!" She exclaimed angrily. But it was at that moment that Walter appeared.

"My _humble_ apologies, my Lady." He said in his usual calm and self assured manner. "I _tried_ to stop him…" He began before Alucard cut him off.

"They'll be guarding my bed. I want to _see_ what manner of _men_ they are." Alucard explained with his usual smirk but Seras felt the logic to his words, it only made sense after all. And the Captain was now speechless as he stared open mouthed at Alucard.

"That aside, my Lady." Walter continued calmly. Integra turned to him.

"What is it?" She asked him. He walked over to her and held out a envelope which appeared to be made of a rather high quality paper, and had a seal on the back.

"This was sent to us." He said as he handed it to her. Sir Integra took it dubiously.

"A letter?" She asked as she turned it to the back where fancy script was scrawled.

"Notice the sender if you would." Walter told her calmly. Her eyes widened with shock and her body stiffened. "Yes." He said, as if in answer to a question.

"Vatican Section XIII…the Iscariot Agency?!" Sir Integra exclaimed in disbelief. Seras stiffened, her eyes wide and her chest felt tight. Wasn't that the Agency which had sent that mad Priest, that Regenerator; Father Anderson?! Whom even her Master had had trouble with?! She felt fear trickle down her spine as Sir Integra had a quick and quiet discussion with Walter. She turned to her then.

"Seras, see what you can do with these men here, see if they will fit with our duties. And then you will have the rest of the evening off to do as you will. Alucard, Walter, with me." Sir Integra said curtly before she spun around sharply on her heel and strode stiffly out of the room, Walter on her heels and Alucard no nowhere to be seen.

Seras salute her Master's Master back and then turned a little nervously back to the amassed men. They were still cluttered up against the wall, staring between Sir Integra and her.

"Well…that was my Master, Alucard, and the older man is Sir Hellsing's Butler and our…assistant in other matters." She explained slowly, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. It was rather unfair to dump all of them on her like this. But if she wanted her Master to see her as something other then 'the lowest of the low', she had to prove herself to him, and what better way to start. She straightened her shoulders then and lifted her chin. Taking a deep breath that was more habit then anything else she stared calmly at the men. "Alright then! So let's see what you men can do!"

* * *

And that brought her back to the present. She had run the men through their paces, tried them out on their weapons to get a feel for how they fought, their cohesion, and their leadership skills. She had explained to them about Vampires, about the Freak Chips, about what Hellsing did. And then she had shown off a little bit. By now she thought she had done more then enough to have followed Sir Integra's orders, and she believed she deserved a little rest. She dismissed the men and then with a sigh of relief retired to her own quarters.

She propped her Harkonnen Cannon up in a corner and saw by the blood on the table that Walter had been by. She sat in the single chair and picked up the packet of blood, not even a little bit hesitant this time. She popped the cap and drank deep, reveling in the taste, her eyes closed to relish the flavor. He had given her O+, her favorite; as morbid as that was. But she no longer cared, she had now fully embraced this portion of the night.

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped audibly when she felt what she thought might be fingertips trailing along the back of her bare neck. She spun around, but nothing was there. If she had had a beating heart anymore, it would have been racing. "Master?" She called softly, nervous, and a little afraid. Was she imagining things? She would love to feel her Master's fingers on her…his hands on her, but she knew he was only playing with her; besides, she might just be imagining things…hoping...in vain. Because he'd never…_seriously_…

It felt as if her heart was being squeezed and she felt her eyes prickle with tears. But no, she told him he would not win, so of course he would play all the harder, pushing his buttons. She'd not give him the satisfaction of making her cry. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fangs. "I think not." She informed him coldly, determined to ignore him completely. She finished her meal and put the empty bag back in the bowl of ice, a little too forcibly as she accidentally broke the bowl. She swore colorfully and jumped to her feet, staring with annoyance and anger –at herself and her lack of discipline- at her hand which had began to bleed sluggishly.

That was when she felt his presence at her back and she whirled to face him, her eyes wide and her breath –so to speak- caught in her throat. What she saw caused her face to heat up with a false flush, and if it had been possible her heart would have raced. He was without his fedora, his glasses, and his red overcoat, and he was staring hungrily at her hand; which he held now in his own much larger hand now, and was raising slowly to his mouth. She stood still, unable to even blink, so shocked was she. And she felt a heat pooling low in her belly as she watched his mouth open, his tongue stretching out in a way some may have thought obscene but she thought absolutely sexy…and he was about to lap up her blood…heat coiled tighter in the apex between her thighs, she felt herself getting wet; just on the thought of her Master licking her blood!

And then she blinked, he was gone. She looked down at her hand; no wound, no sign at all that she had ever cut herself. Confused she spun back around and saw that the bowl she had thought broken was sitting there, fixed. Or never broken in the first place? It came suddenly, the realization. He had tricked her. That bastard of a Master had made her hallucinate, or day-dream, something! The BASTARD!

She snarled her rage, her lips curled back from her fangs and she back handed the bowl ruthlessly, sending it sailing across the room where it shattered against the wall. And then with a hitched sob she spun back around and ran across the small space to throw herself onto her four poster coffin, angry and sad at the same time. Pissed off and so depressed that she felt like crying until she soaked her pillow. But no. No. She would not give him that pleasure. She dug her claw-like nails into the blankets beneath her, slowly shredding them as she hissed her anger. She now knew for 100% certainly that it was indeed her Master behind everything. And she was now more resolute then ever to not loose to him. She held no fantasies about beating him at his own game...he was much to canny and smart for her to ever pull anything over on him. No. All she could do was control herself and simply not let him win. And that would be victory enough for her.

Of course her little temper-tantrum from moments before was not exactly a good thing, a small victory for him actually, but he was welcome to it for now she knew his game, and she would play to win. Or at least, not loose. A dark smirk slowly formed across her face. "I know what you are playing Master." She purred darkly as she pushed the button to lower her bed. "And I will not let you win." She informed him, her voice now cold. She closed her eyes, and locked her mind as tightly as she could against him as she forced herself into a deep –hopefully dreamless- sleep. She would need all the energy she could get.

And as she fell asleep so quickly, she did not hear her Master's amused response. "You think you know what game I play? Oh Police Girl, dear girl; you have _no _idea…" And with a dark chuckle the red eyes in the mirror slowly faded from view.

* * *

AN/ Well? I know it took me ages to finally update, like…way too long. And I am sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for it. And no fear, I have ideas on how to continue it, so the next chapter should not be far behind!!


	3. The Vatican

Disclaimer: I do not own in any way. shape, or form Hellsing. Hellsing belongs to Kohta Hirano and Dark Horse. As do many of the scenes and conversations depicted below. My only contribution is some of the scenes, and Seras' POV in the scenes.

AN/ wow…I updated like….super quickly…especially by my previous standards. Awesome. It's especially easy since I am for the most part following the Manga except for my…additional scenes. So…it's easy to keep it flowing. And I think putting in Seras' insight to these goings on is interesting.

This would have been posted weeks ago, but for the fact that I received ZERO reviews. None. Made me terribly unhappy and gave me no initiative. So; sorry. But, here it is. If you guys want the next chapter, please review. Even a word or two would make me very happy.

* * *

**Last time**: _Of course her little temper-tantrum from moments before was not exactly a good thing, a small victory for him actually, but he was welcome to it for now she knew his game, and she would play to win. A dark smirk slowly formed across her face. "I know what you are playing Master." She purred darkly as she pushed the button to lower her bed. "And I will not let you win." She informed him, her voice now cold. She closed her eyes, and locked her mind as tightly as she could against him as she forced herself into a deep –hopefully dreamless- sleep. She would need all the energy she could get._

_And as she fell asleep so quickly, she did not hear her Master's amused response. "You think you know what game I play? Oh Police Girl, dear girl; you have no idea…" And with a dark chuckle the red eyes in the mirror slowly faded from view._

The meeting with the Vatican -Section XIII Iscariot Agency led by an Enrico Maxwell to be precise- went better then expected. Well, that is to say that no one was killed. Not that her Master and Father Anderson didn't _try; _and in her opinion it was totally Enrico Maxwell's fault. He should _not_ have called Sir Integra a 'protestant sow' of all things.

The letter Sir Integra had received while they had been with the new recruits had been written cordially enough, and on the surface seemed pretty tame; but the under-currents were not so kind. After all, the Vatican and the Protestant Church of England were not on the best of terms even though they were both sects of Christianity. Didn't make much sense to her, she'd think that they would be on the same side; at least on the Freak front. But both Churches were rather…antagonistic towards one-another. Especially the Vatican section XIII.

The letter had been very specific. He had invited Sir Integra for a visit to the Imperial War Museum in London on the 10th of September. More particularly in front of a painting by Kaster; 'Wilander, Earl of Worcester, at the battle of Mamon Plain', at 3pm. Sir Integra had shown up with Walter at the painting, her Master had been watching from the shadows and she had been at the main hall then with a group of foreign senior citizens with her mind open to her Master's. She kept part of her consciousness –about a third- on what her Master was seeing and hearing; and the rest was on the men and women that she was giving a tour to.

They were pretty energetic for old folks and they had a great time. She had briefly gone through all the exhibits real quick before hand and due to her now near perfect recall she think she did a fair job as a tour guide.

She felt Alucard's amusement when Enrico Maxwell arrived with what she assumed to be his assistant; and she heard through his ears the conversation they had. She bristled inwardly at the man's subtly condescending attitude towards Sir Integra. Actually it seriously pissed her off, but she hid it so well that none of group could see past her chipper superficial façade. This Enrico Maxwell apparently felt quite superior to Sir Integra. His words were at first nothing overtly offensive or disdainful, but once Sir Integra told him off for violation of their treaty by sending in Father Anderson -the man (regenerator) whom had tried very, very hard to kill her and her Master and who had succeeded in killing two of their colleagues; and had almost killed her as well- he had turned cold and malicious, and that was when he had called her a 'Protestant Cow'.

He had turned from unassuming to disdainful and blunt.

"I couldn't care less if _two_ or _two billion _of you damned protestant swabs had died. Do you think I would bother _talking _to the likes of you _filth_ if it were not his Holiness' _direct_ order? So _shut_ your mouth and listen well. You Protestant cow." He had said with a sneer in his voice. And that was when her Master stepped out from the shadows, understandably upset.

"Sow?!" He had exclaimed in a humorous offhand manner, as if the slight was of little offense to him –although she could feel the seething anger within him, an anger she echoed as well- before continuing. "That's what _I'd_ expect from the infamous Section XIII. Always trying to impose _their_ peace and laws on everyone else. Those at the top squelching any who oppose their power. Nothing ever changes. Nothing's ever changed in _Rome_ these past 2000 years."

"The Nosferatu Alucard. Hellsing's trash man!! The _killer joker_!!" Was Maxwell's response, mirthful and not intimidated. "I've not seen you in the flesh. Greetings Alucard."

"Greetings, Maxwell. And farewell. You. You just called my Master a sow. Don't think that I'll let you leave this country alive. Your as good as dead, _human_!!" Alucard informed the man coldly, his rancor raised and his guns ready. It was not an idle threat, he fully meant to kill the man for his transgression; Seras felt his rage flowing through his veins like remnants of his long dried out blood. And she found it fascination and wonderful, the feeling of his blood-lust thrilled her. But she also knew that it would not be well to let things get out of hand, and so she began to lead her group towards the part of the gallery where they were.

Maxwell's response was not what she would call cowed, in fact he hardly seemed nervous at all, a dire mistake on her part, and sent her hackles up that he would think so little of her Master's prowess.

"Ohh, how _frightening_. We will never get anywhere with such a _scary_ bodyguard waving a gun around. I say it again, we are _here _simply to speak with you. But if _that_ is how you want it…we must follow suit…in order for us to retain equal footing." And then he snapped, and through her Master she felt Sir Integra and Walter's surprise. And that was when Maxwell scream for _his _bodyguard, the name sending shivers down her spine, chills through her body.

Anderson was the name he had called. Father Anderson. She was frightened, terrified; almost panic-stricken with the thought of facing _him_ again. But then she felt the delight her Master felt to be facing him again, his unbridled _glee_ he felt, and she felt so much better. Happy for her Master to be so happy.

Father Anderson came out quoting scripture in an odd almost monotonous voice, dark, bloodthirsty even. And evidently Maxwell had not _expected_ Father Anderson to be so eager to fight, because he began to tell Anderson to stop. Yell, actually. Nervously even from what she got from her Master. But to no end, Anderson and her Master _both_ wished for the other to die, and were both readily prepared to do so, even against their Master's wishes.

Her Master and Anderson began to laugh, both dark. But her Master's sent thrills down her spine and warmed her through; oh, how she adored this side of him though she hid it so very deep in the depths of her mind, covered up by superficial thoughts; that she was almost sure that even _he _was unaware….though if he cared to search her mind with any sort of effort he'd find it easily enough.

"_Yes_!! Let us kill _Judas Priest_!!" Her Master declared.

"Jus like last time, _Vampire_." Was Father Anderson's response.

And _THAT_ was when she brought her group in through the doors with her persona still in place

-never having been dropped in the first place- announcing loudly (they were somewhat

hearing impaired after all…) "All right then, everybody! Here we have the painting gallery!!"

And she marched them right past and between the frozen forms of her Master and Father

Anderson. It seemed that she had arrived just in time to forestall the bloodshed, and she

hoped her Master would not hold it against her.

While she was leading the foreign folk around the room they commented curiously about the

priest with his swords and knives and at the size of her Master's custom pistols, but then went

on to the paintings with little thought about what they had just seen. And both her Master and

Father Anderson had evidently completely lost interest in any further conflict and they both

took their leave –to they mutual annoyance of Sir Integra and Maxwell- and she breathed a

sigh of relief as she finished up with her group so that she too could leave.

Seras was once again sitting alone in her room, her Harkonnen cannon propped up in the corner and the pack of chilled blood in her hands. She was staring listlessly at said pack, her thoughts miles away. Or, more truthfully, down the hall. On her Master of course. She could not help herself, it seemed futile. She sighed sadly and began to consume her dinner slowly, her mind going blank as she attempted to meditate.

She came to the decision that if she truly wanted to get over this stupid compulsion of her she only had a few choices. Confront her Master with it, let it fester until it killed her, or find someone else to bestow her affections upon. The first was not even _close_ to being an option as far as she was concerned, and the second seemed like it would just make her miserable; and make her less then useless to the Hellsing organization…and she did not want that. So that left the last choice. Finding someone else.

But that too did not seem very feasible. Who else was there that measured up to her Master in any sort of way? He was truly one of a kind in every sense of the word, none were even worthy to lick his shoe….and that way of thinking only made her want him more and she moaned low in her throat as she lay her head down on the table, her fingers gripping her blonde hair and tugging slightly.

She wondered if it were like this for all fledglings, or if it was only her. Considering Alucard's power, it wouldn't surprise her. And of _course_ he was enjoying her plight, she could feel his mirth at her expense…she realized that he was 'with' her in the sense of in her mind and she bristled in indignation and nervous shock. How much had he 'read' from her? She hurriedly locked her mind down as tightly as she could, her face flushed and her body trembling slightly from nerves.

And then she suddenly felt a strong pair of hands begin to slowly knead her shoulders in a manner that was certainly not platonic. Her hands tightened into claws in her hair, scraping against her scalp as she resisted the urge to respond. All of her muscles tensed up and she clenched her teeth tight. The hands began to press harder, to relax the muscles but only causing her to tighten even more. Her Master truly was out to get her. She bit back a moan when her master encountered a knot and smoothed it out. It felt wonderful. How dare he. She closed her mind from him as best she could, throwing up walls between their minds and blocking him out. She knew he could rip through the barriers easy enough if he wished to, but that would not be as fun. For that she was very grateful.

She felt an unnatural breath brush her left ear as he began to whisper to her in a purr. "Relax now, Police Girl. You know you want to."

She stiffened even further and swung her hands back over her head to knock his hands away while jumping to her feet and whirling to face him with a scowl. "You have no idea what it is that I want Master. And I am not about to tell you either." She told him in a cold voice, her eyes narrowed. He just smirked at her in a knowing fashion and bowed to her as if conceding her point as he faded back through the wall. She just stared at him, agape now. What the hell was that?!

* * *

AN/ I know this chapter was a little shorter, but I hope you liked it. Please review.


	4. Socializing

Holy cow…..so it has been 2 years I am so sorry. I wrote this today, it's not as long as I'd like….but it is something for you all. I hope you enjoy it. 3

* * *

**Last time: **_She stiffened even further and swung her hands back over her head to knock hi hands away while jumping to her feet and whirling to face him with a scowl." You have no idea what it is that I want Master. And I am not about to tell you either." She told him in a cold voice, her eyes narrowed. He just smirked at her in a knowing fashion and bowed to her as if conceding her point as he faded back through the wall. She just stared at where he had been her mouth agape now. What the hell was that? That was way too easy…what was he playing at now?_

"Millennium." That had been Jan's final word to Sir Integra as his body was devoured by the flames of the damned. He laughed as he was dying, mocking them with every word, but he seemed to find it amusing to actually give them clue to who was creating all the chipped freaks, fake vampires that lacked substance (Or so he Master fervently claimed). That had led to an in depth investigation by Walter that had seemed to lead nowhere, and then Father Enrico Maxwell had invited Sir Integra to a meeting to discuss the ambiguous word. And what he had reveled had seemed almost unbelievable. Seras had not been there at this point, but Walter had graciously told her what had happened.

"It goes back fifty years ago to World War II." Father Maxwell had started after forcing Sir Integra to practically beg for the information that he had invited her here to share in the first place. He's lucky Alucard had not been there at that moment. "Large numbers of military personnel fled the border from a defeated Nazi Germany. Kameraden Bavarinia, Spider, Helper's Gates, Brother Kreuz, Nahid, Odessa. Such organizations and assorted expatriate Germans assisted in this mass flight. Their primary destinations were the many South American nations sympathetic to the Fatherand." Was the lengthy story he began with. Seras had heard that Sir Integra had little patience with such easily researched drivel, but Father Maxwell had continued.

"They all began their movements just before or after the defeat of Germany. That much is certain. Fleeing the country during the war would have been desertion. The Millennium we know is the name of a project and a military unit. They are the ones who carry out the highly classified transfer of resources and personnel for the Nazis. This Millennium has been working diligently since the initial stages of the war. They ran around occupied Germany falsifying documents while expanding their resources and gathering promising men of talent. They transported everything to South America…confiscated Jewish property, works of art, precious metals, foreign currency, valuable securities, and so on. From the smallest gold tooth to the largest submarine." Walter had told he that at this point he and Sir Integra had been staring at Father Maxwell in silent shock, and the man had taken this as a question.

"You wish to know how we know, do you?" He had been laughing, smug. "Because the Vatican helped! Considerably!" He had left soon after, leaving Sir Integra and Walter to decipher this new knowledge.

But that was for Sir Integra, Walter, and her Master to worry about. She was in over her head as it was with the new recruits, the 'Wild Geese'. For her it was to follow orders and try and whip the mercenaries into shape. But it was not easy, and that overbearingly French captain, Pip Bernadotte made it more difficult. Despite evidence to the contrary, he still seemed to be having difficulty with grasping the fact that vampires existed, and that she herself was such. He was constantly taunting her, teasing her. And of late it had seemed like he was flirting with her of all things! But only recently did it occur to her that this might be a good thing…after all, she did want something to take her mind off of her Master, did she not? And her decision had been to try and fixate (oh, such an ugly word) her affections on someone aside from him, so why not Pip? As she had noticed so thoroughly on first meeting the man, he was nothing like her Master. What could be better?

She had been watching Pip closely these last several days, without making it horribly obvious that she was doing so. She had gotten better at being covert. So at least that was going for her. Little else was. After that last debacle with her Master, the night Sir Integra's had her meeting with Father Maxwell, she had kept the barriers in her mind tight. It was a big strain on her, and she was even more grateful that she had begun to drink her blood on a regular basis. She had also been forcing herself to sleep. But her sleep had not been what one would call restful and were fraught with dreams that she could never recall upon waking, but always left her shaken and feeling as though she had lost something.

But Alucard had not shown his hand yet, and seemed content to let her stew for the time being. She felt that somehow she should be upset that he was not paying very much attention to her, and that he spent all his time holed up with Sir Integra and Walter, but instead all she felt was a vast relief.

It was midday, and overcast. She had been setting the men (her men, what a thought!) to work with ballistics and their firearms, with the focus being on increasing the range they could effectively fire at, and consistently hit their targets. They had been getting better, and she was finally beginning to win a little respect. This made her happy, happy enough that she was able to forget about her Master's incessant hold on her for almost an hour at a time. She could feel his eyes on her at times though, and it always seemed to be after a period of time when her thoughts did not dwell on him. But she might just be imagining things.

At the moment the men were having a break for lunch, and she was sitting in one of the higher branches of a nice sturdy tree, staring out over the grounds. Every now and then she would glance over to survey the men, and Pip who sat with his men. Laughing with them, sharing their meal. He actually wasn't a bad looking bloke now that she had gotten used to his absurdly long hair. It suited him now that she took the time to consider it unbiasedly. Well, as unbiased as she could get. And she was curious about the eye-patch. It certainly added an air of danger about him, and she was obviously fond of danger considering her circumstances. And he was very close to his men, he seemed like a very good commander, he had an almost paternal affection for them. Much different then Sir Integra's sometimes cold demeanor and her Master's arrogance and superiority.

This time when she glanced over to the mercenaries she did not see Pip with them. She straightened up on the branch she was sitting on and started to search for him.

"What are you are lookin' for, Draculina?" She started and then stared down through the branches beneath her and saw the tall man staring up at her curiously, a cigarette held between his thin lips as usual. She was taken aback by his sudden appearance, she had not noticed his approach. Master would be disgusted if he knew she was snuck up on by a lowly human. And there was no way she'd let Pip know she was looking for him. So she'd lie and hid her surprise.

"Nothing commander, I just thought I sensed something." She lied smoothly and turned her gaze back out across the grounds as she had been previously. Then a thought occurred to her and she looked back down at him. "Do you need something commander?" She asked curiously. Why had he come to her? Although he never wasted a moment to harass her, he had never actively sought out her company before. He shrugged and grinned up at her around his cigarette.

"Ah, ze men were wond'rin' if you'd join us for lunch. Not zat you'd eat o' course….but ze company maybe be nice?" He seemed a little flustered over the line of her 'eat'ing or not, but mostly he seemed amused. But also sincere. She did not think he was trying to pull one over on her, but then, she did not know the man well enough to know the full extents of his humor. She looked over at the men, watched them watching Pip and herself. She supposed it might possibly be a true offer. She mused for a moment. Would this be good or bad? Master would not like her to be getting so friendly with the humans, but she was lonely, and it was not like he was much in the way of company….but then there was, what would Sir Integra think? She was very much by the rules in many things. She saw Pip beginning to look a little nervous, and he fidgeted slightly.

Well…why not.

"I'd love to." She said with a smile.


End file.
